


Story a House Can't Tell

by peachxing



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/F, also florist!irene kinda, this is just soft and gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 03:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15355716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peachxing/pseuds/peachxing
Summary: "However, this was different. Because the said person was a woman. A stunning woman, too! Her long, smooth black hair softly gliding against her shoulders, which were exposed by her light-blue summer top. So, naturally, Seulgi started to panic. Her legs refused to listen to her brain and wouldn't move, causing her to continue staring at the woman."Or: Seulgi enjoys staring into people's windows.





	Story a House Can't Tell

On days when she wasn't rushing to work or any other activity (since she was known for being late), Seulgi liked to walk the streets of her neighborhood slowly, inspecting each and every building.

 

The buildings in her neighborhood weren’t quite tall, but very wide. After years of observation, she noticed most buildings were built the same way - long, five-story houses with three entrances, each entrance being on the second floor and connected to the road by a small bridge. They were quite old and definitely required renovation, with dark black stains nearing the top as the result of frequent rain. Seulgi liked that, though.

 

But Seulgi especially liked to look into people’s windows. She found that she could spend hours doing just that, staring into every window and examining the furnished apartments. Each apartment looked different from the other, and the way it presented itself could tell a lot about the people living in it. 

 

Some shone with yellow lighting, making the dark wooden cupboards and chairs seem warmer in color. Those usually belonged to old couples with respectively aging furniture. Some were dimly lit, the small amount of light only allowing Seulgi to see sharp edges of crystal-clean tables and tall bar stools. Those belonged to adults with stable jobs, who wanted to show off as such. And the most common ones were the messy apartments where no piece of furniture seemed to fit the other, clothes and magazines thrown everywhere with leftovers of yesterday’s food stuck in strange places. Sometimes those belonged to lazy college students, sometimes to busy parents with small, hyperactive children. Seulgi found all kinds of homes fascinating.

 

Since most apartments were for rent and not for sale, people moved in and out of them frequently. Those days, when Seulgi saw a big truck with people loading furniture into it, made her the most excited. Sure, it was very rude towards her neighbors, but the new residents who moved in always decorated their apartment differently, which always highly piqued Seulgi’s interest.

 

One time, however, Seulgi went on a two-week long vacation with her family in Jeju, which was very far from her place of residence. When she returned home and began wandering around the streets, she felt that something was odd. She took a few steps back and noticed -  one of the apartments on the third floor that were for rent was finally occupied by someone, who neatly removed the sign from under the window. Wasn’t that wonderful? Seulgi thought as she was staring into the window, observing how there were still unpacked boxes of furniture everywhere. This made Seulgi’s stomach jitter with excitement and anticipation, but not for long until a person approached the window. And she started to panic.

 

Now, this wasn't an unusual situation for Seulgi. Obviously, people lived in those houses and sometimes they had to come out. Seulgi would usually just leave when that happened. However, this was different. Because the said person was a woman. A stunning woman, too! Her long, smooth black hair softly gliding against her shoulders, which were exposed by her light-blue summer top. So, naturally, Seulgi started to panic. Her legs refused to listen to her brain and wouldn't move, causing her to continue staring at the woman.

 

Eventually, the fear of getting caught caused her to quickly flee, perhaps too loudly. She promised herself to never stop near that house again, or she might do something even more stupid and even get noticed.

  
  


-

  
  


Seulgi broke that promise the next day. She really tried, but her curiosity beat her to it as she passed by the same building. The woman wasn't there this time, which let her inspect the newly placed furniture for a while. She noticed the wide use of white - the tables, cupboards and chairs were all white, but she remembered that not everything was unpacked yet. The most visible change in the house was the flowers, potted neatly by the window. They definitely weren't there yesterday. After a minute or so, Seulgi continued walking forward, the anxiety of meeting her again suddenly having the best of her.

 

She wasn't so lucky the day after.

 

Feeling a bit more confident after yesterday’s successful observation, Seulgi traveled the way home happily, humming to a tune nonchalantly. She stopped in her tracks after noticing the familiar window and looked up, her smile quickly turning into a shocked expression, only to be met with the same look on the resident’s face. 

 

“Can I help you?” the woman asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable after twenty seconds of Seulgi staring at her.

 

“Uhhhhhh… hello?” Seulgi replied, mentally slapping herself. Hard.

 

The woman seemed to warm up and started chuckling at Seulgi’s antics, all signs which indicated that she was frightened gradually disappearing. “Hello.”

 

“Uhhhmhhmmm.... You-have-a-very-nice-house-I-will-get-going-now-okay-bye!” Seulgi quickly shouted. Then ran the rest of the way home, leaving the woman very confused.

  
  


-

  
  


As scared as Seulgi was, she couldn't deny that she was still intrigued by the mysterious woman. This was the first time she felt that way about a neighbor: usually she’s just curious about their interior design, but now she’s actually curious about… The woman herself? Heck, she didn't even know her name! She only knew how she looked - soft charcoal-black hair resting on her back in waves, along with her dark, mesmerizing eyes and her cute, small mouth and pink, plump lips… Oh god. Why was she seeing her like that?

 

Seulgi sighed, deciding to take the risk today as well and go to see the woman.

 

As she stepped closer to the window she spent too much time staring at lately, she noticed that the woman was already there, folding laundry, soft music playing from the radio behind her. 

 

Today, Seulgi will be confident, she thought. Yes! You can do it Seulgi! 

 

“Hello!!!” 

 

Well, that was definitely too loud.

 

The woman screamed, dropping all of the laundry to the floor. “Dear god! Why do you always have to scare me?!”

 

“Well, this is the second time I'm meeting you… ‘always' isn't appropriate in this case...” Seulgi could only murmur. Actually, it was the third, but the woman didn't need to know that.

 

The woman sighed, still recovering from the small heart attack she had just experienced. “Well, hello to you too” she said, not too happily.

 

“What’s your name? You have a very pretty face! I- I mean house!” Smooth.

 

The woman finally allowed herself to smile, a soft smirk decorating her usually cold-looking face. “My name’s Bae Joohyun. What about you?”

 

“My name’s Kang Seulgi! Nice to meet you! I hope we’ll get along well!” with much enthusiasm, Seulgi ran out of things to say.

 

“I hope so too. Although, next time you want to greet me, please don't shout” Joohyun said shortly.

 

“S- sure! I will make sure to! Not shout, that is! Thank you, miss! Have a nice day!” Seulgi blabbered, quickly disappearing from Joohyun’s sight. She was beaming with happiness. ‘next time you want to greet me’... That means Joohyun didn't cross out the option of any future meetings! She doesn't think Seulgi’s a creep!

  
  


-

  
  


Over time, passing by Joohyun’s window became Seulgi’s favorite part of going home. She would call her name once she saw her, and the latter would quickly get to the window and wave at Seulgi, greeting her warmly. No window could captivate Seulgi’s attention as much as Joohyun’s.

 

The bright summer turned into a chilly autumn, and Joohyun’s bright, open clothes were replaced with soft oversized sweaters in pastel colors. How could she be so adorable with almost no effort? These thoughts made Seulgi realize that she didn't appreciate Joohyun’s apartment as much as she appreciated Joohyun herself, and any former intentions to study her home’s design disappeared. How could she focus on furniture when a goddess stood in front of her?

 

They gradually got to know each other, occasionally sharing miscellaneous facts about themselves. Seulgi learned that Joohyun worked at the flower shop in a different neighborhood, always taking the evening shift. Unlike her, Seulgi worked at a nearby cafe and genuinely enjoyed working the morning shifts. Seulgi learned how her favorite color was purple, while Seulgi’s was orange. She learned how Joohyun was usually quiet, some people even found her intimidating.

 

Seulgi was so fascinated by Joohyun.

 

Little did Seulgi know, Joohyun, too, was curious about her.

 

“Why don't you come in?” she asked Seulgi one day. “I made cookies about an hour ago. They're still warm.”

 

Seulgi was about to agree, but something stopped her from doing so. She was too scared to agree! Visiting Joohyun’s house meant she would have to spend a long time with her, not just a few minutes, but perhaps even a few hours! What if she messes up? Makes fun of herself? Passing by Joohyun’s window will become awkward again!

 

“Ahh.. Well… I can't right now, my, uhh… My plant is dying and I need to save it! Yeah! Sorry about that!” Seulgi felt satisfied with her excuse, forgetting how she told Joohyun that she doesn't own any plants just a few days ago. Joohyun immediately started pouting. 

 

God, did Seulgi want to kiss that pout off her face.

  
  


-

  
  


Joohyun didn't surrender.

 

She kept asking Seulgi to visit everyday, Seulgi having to come up with a new excuse each time. Over time, Joohyun started losing hope, but still hasn't given up.

 

Because this was the first time she was so interested in a person.

 

And this was the first time she felt that someone was interested in her personality, too.

  
  


-

  
  


“Wow, what’s up with the weather today?” Seulgi asked herself. And indeed, it was raining hard today, with thunders making their presence known once in a while. Seulgi’s weak umbrella found it difficult to fight the strong wind.

 

She saw Joohyun’s window, but she wasn't there. Seulgi wondered if she would hear her despite the storm.

 

“Joohyun-ah!” she shouted, trying her best.

 

A minute passed and Seulgi was about to give up when suddenly a person stood by the window.

 

“Yes, Seul-ah?” Joohyun answered her.

 

Seulgi was probably about to say something smart, or so she was intending to. 

 

But all that left her mouth was a scream, as a particularly loud thunder was heard. Seulgi jumped in surprise, only to slip on the wet ground and fall face flat on the surface.

 

“Seulgi!” Joohyun shouted in worry. “Oh my god, are you okay? Let me get down and help you!” 

 

Feeling the ache in her ankle increase, Seulgi didn't argue.

  
  


-

  
  


Joohyun's house was indeed as beautiful as Seulgi figured. Joohyun’s delicate hands that were skillfully bandaging up Seulgi’s foot, however, were even more beautiful. As well as the focused expression on her face, her cute lips pressed in a thin line.

 

“You should really be more careful next time’ Joohyun broke the silence, once finished with Seulgi’s ankle.

 

“Yeah, you're right… Thank you so much, Joohyun-unnie. You really saved the day” Seulgi smiled, her heart swelling.

 

“It's no problem, really. At least you finally agreed to visit” Joohyun smiled back, making Seulgi feel like the dumbest, most cold-hearted person alive.

 

“I know it'll sound incredibly pathetic, but I never complied because I was too afraid to say something dumb and scare you away” Seulgi admitted.

 

Joohyun started laughing. Like, really loudly, not the usual soft chuckle she gives Seulgi.

 

“You do say many dumb things, Seulgi.”

 

Seulgi felt her shoulders drop, mouth immediately pouting in sadness.

 

“This was one of them, for example. But that's why I like you.”

 

And as quickly as Seulgi lowered her head, she lifted her gaze to meet Joohyun’s amused one. “You… Like me?” she asked, making sure she hasn't misheard.

 

“Do you want me to repeat that, Seulgi?”

 

“Yes, I do” Seulgi smirked at her, suddenly feeling more confident.

 

“I like you, Kang Seulgi.”

 

And with those words leaving Joohyun’s mouth, she was welcomed with Seulgi’s soft lips meeting hers.

 

Seulgi’s foot didn't hurt anymore.

  
  


-

  
  


“Hello, I would like to buy this pot of begonias!” Seulgi exclaimed as she stepped foot in the flower shop, pointing at a pink ceramic pot she saw in the entrance.

 

“Do you want me to wrap it for you?” the florist, also known as Joohyun, giggled.

 

“Hmm, no… I want to place it immediately! My girlfriend’s window needs a new addition to make it the best looking one in the whole street!” Seulgi grinned brightly.

 

“Sure thing” Joohyun returned the smile. She noticed that something was off after Seulgi kept standing in her place, making no move to pay. “You know this still isn't free, babe” Joohyun hinted.

 

“Ugh, really? But it's for you!” Seulgi pouted.

 

“Hmm… Still, you have to pay. Sorry.”

 

Seulgi groaned and fished her money out of her wallet, giving it to Joohyun in defeat.

 

“Thank you for your purchase!” Joohyun smirked teasingly.

 

Seulgi gave her a dead expression in return, slowly walking away. 

 

Joohyun’s smirked changed into a genuinely happy one.

  
  


-

  
  


Next time they passed by her window together, holding hands, they stopped to appreciate the new addition, both of them feeling luckier than ever by each other’s presence.

 

Joohyun’s window was truly the only one Seulgi needed.

**Author's Note:**

> hi! this is my first fanfic on this website. I hope you liked it & have a nice day!


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